


Signals

by multi_angxls



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: F/M, One Chicago (Chicago Franchise), Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:08:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26839483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multi_angxls/pseuds/multi_angxls
Summary: After Julie passes away, Sylvie starts to pull away. She thinks it's for the best, that being lonely is better than being alone. But after a surprise visit from an old friend and a call that hits too close to home, Sylvie starts to rethink her priorities; especially when it comes to one Matt Casey.
Relationships: Brettsey - Relationship, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 25
Kudos: 117





	Signals

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! A few notes before the start:  
> \- This is my first Brettsey fic! I'm going to be posting quite a few more as my inspo for the ship has been off the charts lately  
> \- I used Mackey as a character in this fic. We haven't seen her on the show yet so I tried to keep her characterization as loose as possible  
> \- This is also slightly inspired by season 6, episode 9 of Bones 
> 
> Have fun reading this, folks. It's a sad but beautiful one.

Sylvie swears she doesn’t mean to shut out at first. 

It’s hard after Julie dies. She’d sat in Casey’s office and cried in his arms before Joe’s wedding, she had even talked to Stella about it a few times, and then she just… stops. Foster leaves for med school soon after and Brett finds a place of her own. The whole ordeal is just pretty rough. Between two important people in her life leaving and her moving out of the apartment filled with countless memories of Otis, she just feels alone. Eventually, she realizes that she’s going to have to get used to it. 

So she retreats. 

It starts out small. She finds a new apartment in a matter of weeks. Chloe and Joe claim they don’t mind having her around but they’re a newlywed couple and they want to have their own time together. It just feels like she takes up too much space there, like she’s too much of a burden. It’s not fair to Joe and Chloe for her to stay, so she finds a small apartment that’s actually a bit closer to the fire station than their apartment. The hunt for a new place doesn’t perk her up as much as it normally does. She doesn’t tell them she’s moving out until she has all her things packed and is practically halfway out the door. That’s her first clue. 

The second clue is when the new paramedic comes. Gianna Mackey. Brett makes nice, smiles when she should, and even has drinks with her at Molly’s a few times, but keeps her distance. Mackey is drop-dead gorgeous, sweet, smart enough to notice something is up with her. Not to mention she’s a great paramedic. Sylvie’s been given every reason to trust this woman and yet she just doesn’t have the urge to spill all of her darkest secrets to her, something that’s very contradictory to her usually outgoing nature. 

And then there’s Matt.

Matt’s this whole other thing. He’s been checking up on her constantly, always making sure she’s alright after calls or during break. And— god, he’s just such a solid guy. He’s so sweet and supportive that it makes her stomach churn with something she thinks might be excitement. It’s not like it could be butterflies or anything, right? She thinks back to Julie, as she’s done a lot lately, and remembers her words. _“How long have you two been dating?”_ She had asked. Nobody just says that to someone if they don’t see at least _something_ . Honestly, it’s all just so messy and confusing. Thinking about Matt on top of everything else makes her head go fuzzy, so Sylvie sits on one of the bunk room beds and tries to put whatever _something_ Julie saw between her and Matt on the back burner. 

Until now, that is, when she hears someone walk up to her while she’s still pushing those thoughts of him away. 

“Hey.” 

Of course, it’s Matt. She jolts up at the sound of his voice.“Hi.” 

“Are you okay? This is like the third time this week you’ve skipped out on lunch with everyone.” His brows are furrowed and his eyes are fixed on hers, full of worry. That solemn Matt Casey look. She’d be annoyed at being pitied if it weren’t so attractive. _Not that he’s attractive or anything_ , she backtracks in her head, it’s the look. _The look is attractive. It would be just as attractive if any other guy gave me that look, I’m sure of it._

“Yeah I’m uh, I’m okay thanks. Just not super hungry.” Her response is short and half-assed which makes her feel kind of shitty. She just doesn’t want to make things more complicated than they already are. Keeping him at an arm’s length will make sure of that. 

He tilts his head to the side a little, studying her face. She wishes she had a mirror right now to make sure it’s believable. “You sure?” He’s sitting next to her on the tiny bed and his hand flies to hers. He doesn’t hold her hand but rather rests his hand on top of it. Her stomach is doing cartwheels, full-on acrobatics at this point because— well, he’s just super close to her right now and it feels sort of intimate in ways she isn’t used to. 

“Positive,” she replies in almost a whisper. It’s such an inexplicably visceral reaction she has, the way her tongue dries up and her heart races. 

His mouth opens like he’s about to say something, his eyes glisten with something she thinks is nervousness. “So I was thinking, uh…” he starts, and then just like that, the moment’s over. The overhead speakers start calling out before he has the chance to say anything. 

“ _Ambulance 61, response request to a distress call at 225, 42nd stree_ t.” 

“That’s me. I gotta go, sorry. We’ll talk later, ok?” 

“Ok,” he stutters back as she speeds out of the bunk room, eager to get out of that situation for some reason. 

Sylvie thinks it’s for the best that he never finished his sentence. That her mind is too blurry to be thinking about whatever he was going to say. Still, a part of her can’t help but wonder what it could have been. 

She and Mackey get to the scene quickly. It’s a small bungalow in a quaint residential area that only takes ten minutes to drive to. It reminds her of Julie’s house back in Rockford but she pushes that thought away instantly, refusing to let her personal life get in the way of work. 

“Paramedics, call out.” They knock at the locked door and peer through the windows, trying to see what the situation is. 

“Hello? I ne- I need help.” A woman’s voice calls out to them, her words groggy and slurred together. 

“You might want to stand back for this,” Mackey says. Before Sylvie can reply, Mackey kicks the door and it swings open, now broken and tattered around the outer edge.

Sylvie’s eyes go wide with shock. 

“Sorry, I’ll take the blame for that,” Mackey bashfully laughs before tucking her hair behind her ears and walking in to survey the scene. “Ma’am? We’re right here, hang on.” 

Ok, so a total badass. Add that to the list of things this new girl is.

As soon as they walk in, they see the poor woman who had called out lying on a kitchen floor at the end of a narrow hallway. They rush over to her and Sylvie sees the gash in the woman’s head as she writhes around on the floor next to a kitchen counter, guessing that she’s in her sixties. They get calls like this a lot, single middle-aged people who lose their balance and hit their heads on countertops or coffee tables with no one to get them help. “I- I bent over to grab a spoon and… and I fell. Damn marble countertops! I’m lucky I had my phone on me, I guess.” 

Sylvie feels around the site of the injury, looks at the blood, checks her pupils after Mackey helps her sit up and asks her the routine concussion protocol questions. “Alright, you have a concussion and a pretty nasty cut here on your head. You need a few stitches, we’ll have to take you to Med.”

“What’s your name, ma’am?” Mackey asks. 

“Julie. Julie Graham.” 

The name sends a sharp pain into Sylvie’s chest. _Julie_. She freezes up momentarily, lost in the thoughts of her birth mother, and- seriously, this woman couldn’t have been named anything else? It’s salt in the wound; a coincidence Sylvie immediately wants to forget. 

“Brett? Brett come on, we have to go.” Mackey snaps her out of it and eventually they get the woman— _Julie_ — onto a stretcher and in the ambo. The ride to the hospital is even shorter than the one to the woman’s house. It might have to do with the fact that Sylvie floors the gas and drives quicker than usual, she notices. 

Just like that, she breaks the first unspoken rule of being a paramedic: don’t get involved. You drop them off at the hospital and that’s that. Let the doctors do their job. Now though, now it’s not enough to keep her behind those sliding glass doors. She taps Mackey on the shoulder and, without asking questions, Mackey follows her into the ED. 

“Will!” 

“Hey, Sylvie, what’s up?”

“That woman we just brought in here with a head injury, Julie, how is she?” 

“Yeah we got her here, Julie Graham. Concussion is mild, we gave her some meds, and she’s getting stitched up now. It must have been a pretty nasty fall. We’re going to keep her here overnight to monitor her, make sure she doesn’t get any brain swelling.” 

“Okay, thanks.” She feels the tension leave her shoulders slowly and sighs. They’ll take care of Julie, that’s all she needs to hear. 

“This the new paramedic?” 

“Oh! Yes, uh, Will this is Gianna Mackey. Mackey, this is Will Halstead.” 

“Nice to meet you!” Mackey’s smile is warm and bubbly as she shakes his hand. 

“Nice to meet you too.” He smiles back, whispers to Sylvie once Mackey’s out of earshot, “She seems nice. How’s it going so far? I know you and Foster were close, it must be tough.” 

“Yeah, I do miss Foster. Mackey’s great though, really.” Her response feels half-assed but it’s all she’s able to give. “See you later, Will.” 

“See ya.” 

Mackey’s already way ahead of her now so she speedwalks to catch up. Mackey takes the driver’s seat, looks at Sylvie intently as she shuts the passenger door and sighs. “He’s cute,” she shrugs, “seems nice.” 

Sylvie gives a weak chuckle. “I’m pretty sure he’s seeing someone but sure, have at him.” That’s followed by silence, until the air is thick and tense. 

“So… what was that back in there?” 

“What was _what_?” 

“That!” She gestures to the hospital wing. “One of the first things you told me when I got to 51 was to never get too involved with the patient. Then you go and freeze up when you hear her name and you check up on her afterward. So why’d you go in there? Is this… is this about your birth mother? Her name was Julie too, right?” Her voice is equal parts persistent and cautious. It’s impressive. 

“What? How do you know about that?” 

“I’m sorry I just- you kept dodging all my questions about your personal life so I asked around last week and then Stella filled me in on what happened. I know we’re not super close yet though so I didn’t want to say anything unless you brought it up first. I know how hard those things can be.” 

“Oh.” She’s speechless. She’s known about it for a week and she just sat there patiently, waiting until Sylvie told her herself. Sylvie sits there stunned for a while, and then suddenly just… trusts her. She figures that it won’t hurt to talk to Mackey. She’s new and hasn’t heard Brett’s story yet so at least she won’t feel like a burden to her. Whatever doors she had used to shut people out after Julie’s death slowly open again as she prepares herself to do something she hasn’t really done in a while: open up. 

“Are you mad?” Mackey’s wincing like she’s waiting for Brett to yell at her but her face loosens up when she realizes the shouting will never come. 

“No! No, of course not. If anything, I should be sorry. It’s just uh….” She doesn’t know how to say what she wants to say but starts the only way she can think of. “Do you believe in an afterlife, Mackey?” 

“You mean like in God and all that?” She lets out a deep breath followed by a soft laugh. “I don’t know, girl. I believe in… the universe. Yeah,” she says like she’s just realized it. “I believe in the universe.” 

“The universe?” Sylvie hears the skepticism in her own voice and kind of hates how cynical she sounds. 

“Yeah. Did you know there’s this study that had people wear glasses for three days straight that made them see the world upside down? Yeah, they wore these glasses and by the end of the day they were seeing the world right side up with the glasses on. And then they took the glasses off and the world was completely upside down again. And it took three more days to get them seeing the world right side up again.” 

“So what you’re saying is, I shouldn’t wear glasses? I don’t see how that has to do with the universe,” she teases playfully.

“Well, what I’m saying is, I don’t know about God. Or an afterlife. Or why we’re here. But I believe that the universe is just sending us these tiny messages, cosmic signals. So even when you start seeing the world upside down and blurry, it just takes a little time to get the signals again. For the world to turn right side up again.” 

“Yeah, my life’s been pretty blurry and upside down lately.” Her eyes become glossy with tears that never fall. 

“Like I said, it just takes time,” Mackey smiles comfortingly. 

Sylvie pauses for a moment, thinks about it. Like, _really_ lets the weight of Mackey’s words soak in. That even if there are a million things that make you lose yourself for a little while, it just takes time to figure everything out again. She knows it wasn’t a direct answer, that she’ll never know for sure if there’s a place where here mom is now, but it’s a message that’s enough to make her feel a little more at peace with everything. It’s kind of beautiful. “I like that,” she replies. “Thanks, Mackey.” 

“Anytime,” she winks playfully before leaning in and saying, “and it’s Gianna.” It’s a small gesture but it’s symbolic. It’s trust, it's friendship. 

“Gianna,” she repeats. Gianna pulls her in for a warm hug. 

She decides that she just might be Gianna Mackey’s new biggest fan. 

+++++

The drive back to the station is short. With all the time they have to spare, it leaves Brett starving since she never had the chance to eat lunch so she convinces Gianna to stop by her favorite sandwich shop on the way back. They get veggie subs, extra pickles for Sylvie, and then head back. Hopping out of the parked ambo, their eyes go immediately to the people who are huddled together by the Squad table. Gianna gives Sylvie a confused look and they get out of the ambo to further investigate what’s happening. 

Sure enough, everyone on shift is there in the lounge huddled in a circle. They’re talking and laughing wildly, all seemingly surrounded by a single person. Gianna jumps on her tiptoes to see into the circle but Sylvie taps a few shoulders and an opening soon forms in the circle until she sees who exactly is in the middle.

“Gabby?” 

“Hey partner,” she smiles fondly. 

Sylvie’s eyes immediately start darting around the room and looking for Casey. He’s standing to the left of Gabby, closer to the centre of the circle than anyone else. Even by a quick glance, she can tell he looks happy to see her. It’s expected— they were _married_ , after all— but for some reason this time it feels unsettling and makes her brain feel messy and blurry again. Then, his eyes move from Gabby to her and something shifts. Gabby eyes him as he coughs uncomfortably and subtly steps to the side, scratching the back of his neck. Sylvie hardly has time to think about what that small gesture was for before Gabby’s brushing it off and motioning for her to come over, so Sylvie wiggles her way into the middle of the circle and brings Gabby in for a hug. 

“It’s good to see you,” she says as she pulls away. “How’s Puerto Rico?” 

“Oh, you know, they’re keeping me busy. But I’m in town for a few days so I thought I’d drop by and see how my favorite firehouse is doing.” 

Sylvie gives a weak laugh and nods along politely. And, ok. It’s not like she’s not happy to see Gabby. It’s just that it’s been a while and things have changed. There’s something different this time, something she can’t quite wrap her head around. 

The crowd of people dies down soon after. Gabby still works her way through catching up with everyone one by one but stops at Matt again after a while. “Hey, Matt. Can I talk to you about something?” 

Matt, obviously, nods and follows Gabby to the other end of the firehouse garage. Sylvie heads back to the ambo with Gianna, who had been jumping up and down from the outside of the circle the entire time unable to properly introduce herself to Gabby. “So who’s that?” She asks as she hops on the back ledge of the ambo.

“That was Gabby Dawson, my old partner.”

“The one before Foster?” 

“Yep, that’s the one,” Sylvie replied, her lips only the slightest bit pursed. “She was married to Matt but then they split up and she left for Puerto Rico. We all loved her here at 51 though. I’m sure, uh…” Sylvie’s eyes dart around as she speaks but she pauses when they land on the sight of Gabby and Matt. They’re too far away for Slyvie to hear their conversation but she can tell that it’s friendly. They’re both smiling and being friendly. She’s eating an eclair— god, she even looks good while eating food. The conversation gets serious as she asks him a question. He’s smiling and answering, putting a caring hand on her shoulder. Knowing their history, Sylvie assumes it’s far from platonic. Then, she feels that green pit in her stomach at the sight of them and it gets complicated. That protective, defensive feeling makes her brain feel blurry and fuzzy again. She can hardly think straight looking at him, and looking at him and Gabby is even worse. “... I’m sure everyone’s happy to see her again.” 

Sylvie’s eyes are fixed on them. The only way she can break her gaze is by looking at the floor. She looks back up from the floor eventually and sees Mackey staring at her. 

“ _Everyone_?” she asks skeptically. 

“Yeah,” Brett nods, not knowing whether she’s reassuring Mackey or herself. “Well, Matt’s obviously happy to see her. There’s a lot of history there, I’m sure he’s extra thrilled. They sure do seem to be hitting off just like old times which is great! It’s- it’s just great, they deserve to be happy together.” 

Gianna gives looks between Casey and Sylvie and raises her eyebrows like she just figured out the answer to everything. “Ah, I see.” 

“See— see what?” She’s practically stuttering at this point. 

“The signals, girl,” Gianna replies knowingly while wiggling her finger at Brett. “It’s all about the signals.”

She thinks back to their talk about the universe and its signals as Gianna walks into the firehouse, thinks of what Gianna is implying. Of the moment she’d had with Matt before the call. She tries to brush it off and explain to herself that whatever she’s feeling about Matt is just about the stress of Julie dying, that it’s all in her head. It could even be that she’s just trying to subconsciously stop feeling so alone, that she likes the idea of having someone and he’s the first person she saw. Honestly, she thinks it could be any number of things, and trying to make sense of it all makes her head go blurry for the hundredth time. Matt Casey sure has a way of making her world all upside down. Without knowing exactly what she feels for him, it’s messy and confusing. 

Then she looks at him with Gabby, feels the way her heart shrivels and thinks maybe things aren’t so blurry and upside down anymore… 

+++++ 

_Matt feels Gabby’s hand gently hovering over his elbow and leads him away from the Squad table. “So what’s up?”_

_“I actually have a favor to ask. I know it’s been a while and it’s a lot to ask but—”_

_“What do you need?” He doesn’t hesitate to respond. He figures they know each other well enough to know that they don’t have to dance around asking for things._

_She shoots him a grateful smile as she explains, “I need to be put into contact with someone for work, someone that you know from your alderman days. It’s the main reason why I’m in Chicago this week actually. We’re trying to recruit new members from Chicago for the relief program and his support would be a huge help to us.”_

_“Yeah sure, I can give them a call and set up a meeting with you two.”_

_“Really? Ugh, that’d be perfect, thank you!” She sighs, relieved, and puts a grateful hand on his shoulder. “You’re a lifesaver, Matt Casey.”_

_He nods politely and smiles. “Yeah, no problem.” It’s refreshing, he finds, how they’re able to be friends. To go from getting that heartbroken feeling every time he passed her old locker to being able to stand there and talk to her, accept favors without feeling any tinge of romance or heartbreak or pain, it fills him with a sense of pride. She jumps in victory, grabs an eclair from the squad table and moans in delight at how delicious it is._

_“So who’s the new paramedic? I didn’t get the chance to meet her,” she explains, her mouth full of pastry and chocolate. “Is she hot?”_

_Matt laughs, “Well there’s been two since you left. Foster just left a few weeks ago, now we have Mackey. I think she and Brett are getting along nicely. Brett’s been keeping her distance lately though, she’s been through a lot.” His eyes stare off into the distance momentarily as he thinks of Sylvie, of when he comforted her in his office. Of how soft her hair is. Of how she looks beautiful even when she’s crying._

_“Oh, so is that why you froze like a deer in headlights when you saw her earlier?”_

_“What?!” Matt’s voice comes out an octave higher than it normally is and he clears his throat when he realizes how not believable that was. “No. I mean, no it’s not like that. We’re friends. She’s- I mean sometimes it feels like- but then, well… no, no we’re just friends.”_

_Gabby sighs, shaking her head in defeat. “You gotta let what we had together make you ready for_ something _, Matt Casey,” she explains. “you can’t hide from Brett forever.”_

_Matt thinks about it for a while. Sylvie has definitely shown interest in other people, that much is proven by her engagement to the chaplain and her date with Ryan. Not to mention she’s been acting weird lately, a lot more distant than usual. But then he thinks about how Boden had told him to bring a date for dinner with him and Donna, how he had only thought of Sylvie being there, thinks about how hopeless he felt when she had gotten engaged to the Chaplain, of all the tiny moments they have where he looks at her and thinks that the answers to the universe are in her eyes somewhere, and just. It’s obvious. There’s no denying it to himself anymore: he has feelings for Sylvie Brett. Strong, intense, messy feelings for her. Not that he’s going to shout them to the world, especially not to his ex-wife. He gives a flustered shake of his head and sighs, “You just focus on eating your eclair,” he teases._

_“Who am I to disobey?” She jokes as she takes another bite. “Tastes like ‘I was right’. Mmm, I love that flavor.”_

_Matt laughs and leaves, heading for his office. Gabby moves to the Squad table where she slumps down on what used to be the Gabby Dawson naptime chair. She’s got a lot of catching up to do and such little time to do it so she starts off as soon as she can. Catching up with Casey and adding some Gabby Dawson spice to it is easy, it’s the Squad boys that are going to be the tougher walnuts to crack. Severide grins when she sits down as if he already knows he’s in trouble._

_“What’s up boys?”_

+++++

Two days after Gabby’s arrival, Matt shows up for work late.

It’s not like Sylvie’s stalking him or anything, everyone else notices too. The whole firehouse crew is in the briefing room, Chief Boden at the front wrapping up the morning meeting, as Matt runs into the room. His cheeks are flushed and he’s out of breath. Clearly, something happened to delay and he had ran here in a hurry. Sylvie’s brows furrow. It’s an early morning shift, sure, but not _that_ early. Whatever it is— or _whoever_ it is, Sylvie guesses— must have been important for him to be late. 

“Casey, I see you’re late.” 

“Sorry, Chief, something came up. It won’t happen again.” Sylvie watches from her seat at the front as Matt leans on the wall at the back. Severide’s giving him an amused look. Matt shrugs, confused, and Kelly shakes his head laughing. He knows it just as well as Sylvie does: Matt Casey is _never_ late. 

“No, it won’t.” Chief Boden’s response is stern but short. “Dismissed.” 

Boden and the others slowly leave the room and Casey’s shoulders slump down knowing full well that Chief will be talking to him later. 

Sylvie falls behind and approaches Matt. 

“How screwed am I?” He asks, looking up from his feet. 

“Ah, you’ll be fine. I’m sure Boden gets it.” She pauses and bites her lip in an attempt to stop herself from asking what she’s dying to ask but it fails. “I mean, it was Gabby, right? The reason why you’re late? Chief would totally understand that.” 

Matt furrows his eyebrows. “Yeah, sort of. How’d you guess?” 

Her dreaded question is finally answered with a sting. Sylvie hadn’t really expected a different answer but it makes sense. They have so much history together so, yeah, of course, Matt was going to drop everything for her every time she pays a visit. She has a feeling it happened last year and a feeling that it happened now. “I took a wild guess,” she replied, the joke falling flat. “But if you’re happy then, uh, that’s great. I’m happy for you.” _Liar_ , she thinks to herself. 

Matt stands up from the table he’s leaning against and gets closer to Brett. Like, really close. He moves slowly, his brows still furrowed and confused. “Sylvie, Gabby and I—”

Just in the nick of time, the overhead speakers start calling out. _“Truck 51. Engine 51. Squad 3. Ambulance 61. Auto collision reported at Hamlin Avenue, Garfield Park.”_

Sylvie’s glad she doesn’t have to hear the details of Matt and Gabby’s time together as everyone starts springing into action. Soon, sirens are blaring and the trucks are rolling out with the ambo, and Sylvie hardly even thinks about it. Sylvie offers to drive this time, takes her frustration, and jealousy out on the gas pedal as she speeds down the streets. 

“Isn’t this, like, the third call we’ve gotten from this street in the past week?” Gianna acts confused but she’s new here so Sylvie doesn’t blame her, just explains it to her. 

“Yeah. Garfield Park is a pretty rough part of town, we get quite a few calls here.” 

They arrive on the scene and the damage is evident. It’s brutal, really. The main damage is to a minivan t-boned by an 18-wheeler. but it was at an intersection so there are some cars that got hit lightly that are scattered across the road. 

Half of the firefighters immediately start yelling for injured people to call out while the other half focuses on the upside-down minivan. There are only about three or four cars with smaller damages so, with an understanding nod, Gianna goes to check up on those drivers while Brett stays at the minivan. Her heart breaks when she sees the family of four sitting in the car, dangling from their seats. 

The little girl, no older than ten, calls out first. “Help! Please, help, my mom and dad won’t wake up!” She’s reaching forward trying to tap her parents’ shoulders to wake them up. The car teeters every time she moves back and forth so Sylvie shouts out. 

“Hang on, we’re coming! We’re going to check ip on your parents, okay? Stay still, don’t move. You’re going to be ok.” Sylvie peers through where the car window used to be at the girl. She has a younger brother sitting next to her, a deep laceration to his head and glass shards in his arms. The parents aren’t in a better condition either from what Sylvie sees. Joe grabs his Slammgian and pries the car doors open so that they can get a better look, and Matt is standing over the car waiting to help. 

Sylvie crawls in closer to the father in the driver’s seat. His condition is the worst. Since the truck hit the driver’s side, his legs and side are almost completely disheveled and crushed by the impact. Sylvie checks for a pulse and her heart breaks when she feels none, the flesh cold. She looks up at Matt, shakes her head, and moves on to the other side of the car to check on the mother, waits for Joe to open the door again, and does the same. 

No pulse. 

It hits her hard, almost harder than the dad’s death. She hears the poor girl calling out again and it makes her heart sting. Sylvie knows better than anyone what it’s like to lose a mother. “Help! I’m scared,” the girl cries. 

“It’s okay! It’s okay, I’m here,” Sylvie reassures her as she moves over to where she’s seated. The panic and confusion in the girl’s eyes is evident as she watches the firefighters pull her parents out of the car. Sylvie needs this child to cooperate with her though so she doesn’t tell her about her parents. “Hi, what’s your name?” 

“Lily. Lily Frampton.” Upon quick examination, Sylvie notices that Lily’s arms have shards of glass on them too but from what she can tell, that’s the only injury the kid has sustained. It’s a miracle that this girl isn’t more hurt than she is. 

“Lily, that is such a pretty name. I’m Sylvie Brett. Lily, I’m going to ask you to do something for me. I want you to unbuckle your seatbelt, can you do that for me?” 

“Uh-huh,” she nods. Lily winces as she twists to the side a little and unbuckles her seatbelt. Immediately, she stabilizes herself using the sides of the car with one hand, tries her best to get her knees safely on the ground as Sylvie borrows Joe’s gloves and brushes glass shards away. 

“Ok, perfect. Now, does anything hurt? We need to know before we get you out of there.”

“My arm hurts.” She tries to wiggle her right arm but wails in pain. 

Sylvie assumes from afar that her arm is broken. “Okay, that’s okay. Lily, I want you to take my hand using your left hand, can you do that?” 

Lily nods and complies silently. She’s still terrified, Sylvie can tell that much, but she trusts Sleeve which is good. 

Gianna’s coming over with stretchers to cart the parents off and immediately Lily starts frantically looking at her parents. “What are they doing? What’s happening to my mom and dad?” 

“Hey! Hey, I need you to stay focused on me, Lily.” 

Lily’s eyes reluctantly find their way back to Sylvie’s. “Ok, I’m listening.” 

“Good. Ok, now slowly start crawling out. Try and avoid the glass if you can, okay?”

“Ok,” she replies, uneasy as she inches forward. Eventually, Sylvie’s arms are able to wrap themselves around Lily’s sides and she pulls her out of the car, careful to avoid putting pressure on the girl’s right arm. 

Sylvie can hear Matt sigh in relief from the other side of the car as he calls out, “Alright, Truck, let’s get working on this side. We still got one more kid in here.” He gives Sylvie a sympathetic look before she gets the girl on a stretcher. Then, Slammigan’s being thrust into the car and prying the fourth door out. Gianna is done with the other people involved by now and takes charge of getting the younger one out. The young boy, around seven or eight, has a pulse but it’s weak. They put him in the back of firehouse 20’s ambulance to be wheeled off to Med and Lily goes in theirs. Gianna starts to get in the back but Brett stops her, asks Gianna to drive so she can stay in the back. Gianna sees her ghostly pale face,

worried and upset, and agrees. 

Sylvie feels the weight of this one in her stomach as they drive to Med. The urge to cry is strongly overpowered by the need to help this little girl though, who’s freaking out. “Is Elton going to be okay?” 

“Elton’s your little brother?” She asks. 

Lily nods fervently. “What about my parents?” 

Sylvie freezes. There’s no way in hell she’s going to tell her that both her parents are dead but she feels her heart shatter as she replies, “I don’t know but you’ll find out soon, okay?” 

Lily’s arm is broken pretty badly but the adrenaline’s still partially there. It still doesn’t stop her from wailing. “I want Hubert here,” she groans. 

“Hubert? Who’s Hubert?” 

“My teddy bear,” she explains. “He’s the only friend I have, I need him to tell me that mom and dad are going to be okay.” 

Sylvie starts to think that maybe she should have driven because her heart just keeps breaking listening to this girl talk about her stuffed animal and her worry for her family. This call’s tough, especially after all Sylvie’s been through in the past month. 

They get to Med ten minutes after firehouse 20’s ambo does and get Dr. Manning to look at Lily’s arm. 

“Hey, Nat, do you know about the other boy that came in here? His name is Elton Frampton.” 

“Yes, the other paramedics brought him in a few minutes ago. He was in pretty rough shape, we rushed him up to surgery almost immediately. There’s a lot of damage to his side, his liver and intestines are crushed from the weight of the car and the impact,” Manning explains. “I’ll keep you updated though.” 

“Thanks, Nat,” Sylvie sighs in relief, feels the comforting hand Gianna places on her shoulder. “Do you know about the driver? Did they bring him in here?” 

“Yeah, they did. He was super intoxicated, his BAC was off the charts. He died on the operating table a few minutes ago. That little girl you brought in is lucky,” she continues, “It’s a miracle that she wasn’t more injured.” She nods politely before walking out of the hospital with Gianna but can feel the unintended sting of Natalie’s words. A word like _luck_ is hard to apply to this situation. 

Sylvie gets back into the ambulance and realizes she might be the only one who thinks that Lily Frampton is the unluckiest little girl in the world. 

+++++

The common room is loud when she gets there, so she leaves pretty quickly. 

The bunk room is quieter so she goes there to escape for some peace and quiet, her mind racing too fast to actually fall asleep. Matt comes over from his quarters as soon as he sees her, no matter how much she avoids him. Nowadays it seems like no matter how much Sylvie tries to distance herself for her own sake, Matt Casey just keeps coming back. Part of her never wants him to stop. “Hey.” 

“Hey.” 

“I just wanted to see how you were doing after that call today. Mackey told me that it might have struck a nerve and figured I should check up on you. ” 

“Oh did she now?” Her question is light and playful but she knows she’s definitely talking to Mackey about it afterward. For now, though, her tone goes back to being serious as she replies, “Yeah. today was a bit rough. I mean, those kids might lose both of their parents. It’s an awful feeling to lose a parent, that much I know. But two? At such a young age? It’s just awful.” 

“It’s definitely a tough one. Look, I know everything with your birth mom makes it worse and- I don’t know, I feel like you’ve kind of been pulling away from me lately. But I am here for you no matter what. You know that, right?” 

“I know,” she nods, the words barely escaping her throat. Because she does know. She knows how much he’s been there for her and all it’s given her is false hope. Except she sees the way he’s looking at her and this time she lets herself believe for a minute that maybe it isn’t so false. She swallows hard, feels her breathing get heavy. He’s standing close to her again, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as her skin starts to feel hot to the touch, doing things he shouldn’t considering he probably just spent the night with Gabby. 

The reminder of Gabby is enough to make her step back from him. Her eyes move down to her feet. Just as he starts to pull her back in with the riptides, she spits herself onto the shore further away. Distancing herself is the only thing that will make all of the ugly colors of jealousy that fester in her stomach start to go away. “I should, uh…” she can’t think of any excuse that would be good enough to make her leave his side but it has to be done so she spits out the first one she thinks of, “I should probably go check up on Mackey. She started restocking the gauze but she’s still new enough that she thinks the recommended amount is enough.”

His laugh is weak and Sylvie thinks she’s imagining the tinge of disappointment in it. “Ok.” 

Sylvie goes off and looks for Mackey, her relief only slightly more substantial than her guilt. Her excuse did have some truth to it. After all, you can literally never have too much gauze. Mainly though, Sylvie does it so she doesn’t seem like she’s blowing Matt off (which she kind of is, for her own sake, but he doesn’t need to know that). It doesn’t take long to find her in the bunk room talking to Stella. “Hey.”

“Hey!” Gianna replies cheerfully. She’s so sweet that for a moment, Brett almost forgets that she’s supposed to be annoyed at her as she slumps down next to her on the small bed. 

“Hey, stop that! I’m supposed to be annoyed at you.” 

Mackey immediately pouts. “Aw, wait why?” 

“Uh, hello. Matt told me you said he should check up on me! What happened to, I don’t know, girl code?”

“Oh, pfft,” she says with a loose brush of her hand. “I might have mentioned _something_ about that.”

“Mackey!” 

“Hey! It’s not my fault, he came to me asking about you. Besides, you two need a little push.” 

“I— Stella! Help me out here,” she pleads as she turns to her friend and gestures for her to sit next to her on the bed. 

“I hate to break it to you but I kind of agree with her. You two clearly have something going on and neither of you will admit it! Hello, the coughing fit incident?” Sylvie buries her face in her hands, mortified at the memory of the game night with Olivia and all the awkward feelings her words had drudged up. 

“Wait, there was a coughing incident?” Gianna chimes in again. “Now this I gotta hear.” 

“Oh, wait ‘till you hear this,” Stella laughs as she leans in to make sure no one overhears. “So, Foster and I were talking to Brett right here in the bunk room one day, right? And then Matt walks into the room and says hi. But see, as soon as this one right here sees him she starts having a coughing fit. Poor thing was so nervous, it was adorable.” 

“No way,” Gianna’s jaw is on the floor as she laughs.

“Okay in my defense, I was just surprised to see him and my spit went down the wrong pipe. That happens all the time! It’s just a coincidence, that’s all,” she stammers. 

“Oh please! You two are made for each other, you just won’t admit it,” Mackey replies.

Stella nods in agreement. “That’s what her spin instructor told her.” 

“Ok, you guys are crazy,” she teases. Before she can continue to pretend like she doesn’t like Matt, her phone starts ringing from her purse. The caller ID says Natalie Manning, so she picks up right away. 

“Oh, saved by the bell!” Mackey singsongs. She smiles to herself but doesn’t reply as she answers her phone. 

“Nat? What’s up?” 

“Hey. I just thought you should know that the girl you saved earlier today, Lily, she’s all cleared to leave. DCFS is picking her up soon.” 

“That’s good,” Sylvie nods. She knows that girl will always miss her parents but hopes that she and her brother will find a wonderful adoptive family just like she has. “And what about the brother?” 

“He…. he lost too much blood. He didn’t make it out of surgery. I’m so sorry, Sylvie.” 

She closes her eyes and doesn’t try to fight the hopeless feeling that takes over. “Thank you for letting me know, Nat.” 

“Of course,” she replies sympathetically before Sylvie hangs up. 

“Uh oh, what was that?” Stella asks with furrowed eyebrows.

“The boy from the crash, Elton… he didn’t make it out of surgery. His sister Lily is the only survivor.” 

“Oh no, Sylvie I’m so sorry,” Gianna replies. They both have that sad, sympathetic look on their face, along with a general look of discomfort. Sylvie can tell they aren’t quite sure how to comfort her on this one. To be honest, Sylvie doesn’t know either. For so long after Julie’s, she thought distancing people was the right thing to do. That it was the only way she’d be okay with being alone. Now though, now she thinks about that poor girl who just lost her entire family and decides that there’s nothing worse than losing the people you love. Even when, in Sylvie’s case, they’re right in front of you the entire time. 

Taking those steps to finally speak everything she’s been dying to say for so long is going to be hard work. But her world is finally clear now, finally right-side up. And her mind feels sharp again. The itch to do something for Lily Frampton scratches at her brain. To help her feel less alone after she finds out her whole family is gone. She needs friends just like Sylvie does, just like she thought she didn’t need. She figures that if this girl’s going to know what it’s like to be an orphan just like Sylvie had, the least she can do is find this girl’s stuffed animal, right? 

Since their shifts are over, she grabs her coat and her purse and leaves.

+++ 

By the time the cab she calls drops her off at the scene of the incident, it’s pouring rain. The streets are bare like a ghost town on the block next to the scene, the lamp posts acting as the only source of light. The only person who walks by on the street is some asshole who catcalls her. The whole scene just irks her a little. She’s been in bad parts of Chicago before but they were almost always in a professional capacity and most _certainly_ during the daytime. 

She starts looking a few blocks away from the incident, figures there’s a chance that Hubert could have been blown by the wind and rain or kicked over here somehow. The rain is coming down hard but it doesn’t stop her. She wipes the raindrops off of her brow and pushes forward.

“Come on, Hubert, where are you?” She recognizes how crazy she must look talking to herself in the pouring rain in the middle of the night, but no one’s around to stare at her so it doesn’t matter. It takes her twenty minutes to look down the first street, making sure she checks every nook and cranny from the sidewalk. 

She moves to the end of the street where the incident had occurred and sure enough, Hubert the teddy bear is sitting in the middle of the road, tattered and missing an ear but still intact. She smiles, feels triumphant as she walks into the road to get Hubert. The smile that Lily Frampton is going to have on her face is enough to make Sylvie overjoyed. She’s brushing it off and squeezing the water out of it in the road, completely blocking out the world around her. 

Sylvie doesn’t know how it happens. Doesn’t know where the car comes from or who’s behind the wheel. All she knows is that she’s standing in the middle of the road one minute, the rain soaking her and Hubert, and the next minute a car is in front of her with blaring headlights and a loud incessant car horn. Before she has time to react, a pair of sturdy arms come flying and yank her out of the road. She crashes into the arms of whoever it is that saved her, feels confused when whoever it is doesn’t let her go from his embrace for a few seconds longer than strangers normally do. Her confusion is amplified when she looks up and realizes that she’s standing on the side of the road, drenched and in shock, in the arms of Matt Casey. 

She steps back a little bit before putting her hand on her head in confusion. “Casey?! What are you doing here?” She’s practically screaming over the loud downpour of rain. 

“Following you to a bad part of town and saving your life, apparently!” He shouts back over the rain. “Kidd told me about the boy from the crash and I figured you might come back here. I was looking all over this place for you.” 

“You’ve been looking for me?” 

“Well… yeah. It’s not safe, I was worried about you. What the hell are you doing here?! ” 

“I’m looking for Hubert.” 

“Hubert?” 

“Lily’s teddy bear.” She shows him the soggy, worn down teddy bear. She looks at Hubert, knows what he means to poor Lily Frampton, and feels a single tear stream down her face as the rain trickles down her face with it. 

“The little girl from the car crash? Sylvie—”

“I know, I know, I just— I’m not her, am I? Lily Frampton? I mean I know I’ve been shutting everyone out a bit. Especially you. I just thought losing someone wouldn’t hurt as much if I put myself at arm’s length. But that poor girl just lost her whole family and I don’t want to be alone like that anymore. And I certainly don’t want her to make that same mistake.” 

“Why especially me?” Sylvie isn’t sure if it’s a question or a statement but his voice is shaky and low. “You haven’t lost me, I’m right here—” 

She lets out a deep breath and exclaims, “I got the signal, Matt!” The raindrops feel even louder as they both go dead silent. 

“What?” His eyes are wide like a deer in headlights. 

“I was seeing everything upside down and it got too confusing and messy, so I backed away. And it took a little time but now it’s right side up again and it’s too late. I missed my shot. With you. With us, whatever it is we had. And now Gabby’s here, visiting and—”

“Brett, I—”

“—you were married after all. I get it, there’s no erasing that connection. I get that and I—”

“ _Sylvie,_ ” he emphasizes. 

“I got the signal, Matt. I got it too late and I—”

“I didn’t sleep with Gabby!” He explains, yelling over her rambling.

Sylvie stands there and the world feels dead silent, even with the rain pouring down. “But… but you were late today. You’re almost never late.” 

“I was setting her up with a city councilor for her work. It was the only time he was available to talk so Gabby and I met up with him. That’s all that happened. I’ve been trying to tell you all day.” 

“Oh.” As soon as it comes out of her mouth, she feels stupid. It’s the first time in a while she assumes the worst of someone and it makes her feel guilty. 

In the worst weather of the season, thunder then starts grumbling in the clouds, and Sylvie shudders. “We better get under something,” he switches the subject, “the weather’s getting worse, and my car’s too far away right now.” 

Sylvie winces at the next rumble of thunder and nods in agreement. Matt takes in his surroundings, takes in the abundance of flat buildings with no awnings. Luckily, Sylvie remembers the bus stop shelter at the end of the street that she passed, taps Matt on the shoulder to point it out to him. He nods instantly without her having to explain it. 

“We’re just going to have to make a run for it then,” he decides. “Here.” He unzips his jacket and holds it over his head, leaving space for her to join. She takes her spot under his jacket, his arm hovering around her shoulders, tries not to focus too much on the fact that she’s pressed up against his side. They’re both squinting at the rain as they walk down the street before ducking and rushing into the bus stop. 

Instant relief and warmth spread over her as she uses her spare hand to rake through her drenched hair. They listen to the rain tapping on the glass walls in utter silence, their breathing heavy and fast, the air tense. 

It’s subtle, the way Matt turns his body towards hers and moves in closer. She almost doesn’t notice it. “So you were saying?” he starts, “Something about signals? About… about _us_ ?” _Us_ . He says it so carefully like it’s a glass orb that might break. The word repeats itself in Sylvie’s head over and over. She likes it, the idea of an _us_. She and Matt. 

Sylvie stutters, feels her cheeks burn up. “Sounds familiar, yeah. I mean, really, it’s probably not worth repeating, I was just—”

“Seeing the world upside down? Not wanting to lose me?” 

“Yeah,” she answers, biting her lip. “Something like that.” 

“Right.” The look on his face is triumphant. Sylvie knows he’s proud of himself and shakes her head in disapproval. 

“So smug,” she teases and keeps shaking her head, “You’re not funny.”

“No, just nuts about you,” he responds without missing a beat. It takes Sylvie by surprise, seeing how sure of himself he is. How easily the words just roll off his tongue. She blinks to make sure she isn’t imagining it. “And I’m tired of hiding it.” 

She pauses for a second, lets him keep moving in until there’s hardly any space left between them. After a beat, she finally replies, “Me too.” 

It’s all Matt needs to hear. He doesn’t waste a second before putting his hand on the small of her back and pulling her in firmly and quickly. They’re still drenched from the rain but Sylvie’s skin feels hot against his under the bus stop shelter as the lightning flashes around them. They’re too busy to notice though, as Sylvie pushes back against his lips, her hands resting over his chest. The kiss is warm and firm and passionate and she can’t tell if she shivers under his touch or if it’s just because of the cold rain. 

His lips catch her bottom lip before pulling away. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear for her just the way he had in his office, consoling her back during those protests. It hits her, then, that he’s looking at her the same way as he had then. The same way he always has. That sparkle in his eye, the one she thought she had just been imagining, is still there. Nothing’s changed, so maybe he’s felt this way for longer than she originally thought and she just had been too oblivious to notice. 

“Hi,” is all she says, her hands still on his chest as she looks up at him bashfully. 

“Hi,” he replies. His smile is soft and he has that low, choked up tone to his voice that just drives Sylvie crazy before she decides to be the one to lean in this time. The second kiss is even sweeter and heavier than the first, filled with all the joy and satisfaction of the world being right-side-up again. 

+++++ 

Molly's is still blaring loud and busy when they get there. 

The rain dies down so they hop in Matt’s truck and drive to Molly’s. Sylvie figures Lily Frampton is probably asleep by now but resolves to go see her in the morning to give her back her stuffed animal. She and Matt also come to a mutual agreement to not tell anyone about the kiss just yet. “You can refresh my memory of that kiss tomorrow night at dinner and then we’ll tell everyone,” Matt had explained, kissing her on the cheek soundly before jumping out of the car. As the true gentleman that he is, he comes around to the other side of the car and opens the passenger door for Sylvie. She wraps a hand around his arm as they stand outside the bar, staring nervously. 

“We can do this, right?” He asks nervously. 

“It’s just one night. One night of pretending nothing’s happened between us and then we’ll tell them. How hard could it be?” She shrugs, unsure of whether she’s convincing Matt or herself. Matt drops his arm and they shuffle a few inches away from each other before walking up to the door of Molly’s and walking in. 

Sylvie wonders if they look like they’re hiding something as they walk into the bar, looking awkwardly at their surroundings. Stella’s wiping down the bar while talking with Herrmann and Mackey, Gallo and Ritter are arm wrestling, Kelly’s goofing around with Joe and the rest of the guys on Squad 3. It’s a warm and familial sight, her grin wide and happy as she sits down next to Gianna. 

“Hey! Where’d you run off to after shift? I thought everyone was heading straight here,” Herrmann’s the first to ask, his brow furrowed. 

She tells him about the boy from the car crash dying. About his sister, about the stuffed animal she’d lost and how she’d found it for her. She makes sure to leave out the Matt of it all, saying only the shortest summary of what she’d done. Herrmann, Stella, and Gianna all nod along and don’t ask any follow-up questions. Not even when Matt had walked into the bar right behind her, the two of them playing it off as completely casual as he slides into the group of guys and starts striking up a conversation with Severide. 

“Man, _you’re_ okay though, right? We got worried after you left so suddenly,” Stella asks this time. 

“Oh yeah, I’m okay. I just wanted to do something for that girl. No one should feel alone, you know?”

“You’re a good kid, Sylvie Brett,” Herrmann nods, pats her on the shoulder approvingly. 

“It’s true,” Stella chimes in. “You’re a damn angel.” She slaps a hand on the bar enthusiastically, her words slightly slurred. Mackey must have roped her into getting out the good tequila. 

She’s hardly listening to the conversation after that. Her eyes glance sideways at Matt, elbows on a bar table with the guys and ignoring them completely, staring directly at her with a grin. The smile she gives back is bright and wide but only momentary before she turns her eyes back to Herrmann and the girls.

“I can’t believe you kicked a door down today. Total badass!” Stella exclaims in total awe and excitement.

“Why thank you,” Gianna giggles, and they high five, Sylvie laughing along and Herrmann pointing an approving finger at Mackey. 

“She’s right, kicking down doors is the fun part of the job, very badass,” he nods. 

Sylvie laughs along, shaking her head. She starts to speak, wants to offer another quip about how Mackey’s badass switch turns on and off quicker than lightning, but is interrupted by feeling a hand on the small of her back. Thankfully, Stella, Mackey, and Herrmann can’t see it since they’re on the opposite side, the hand being blocked by its owner, one Matt Casey. 

He uses his other hand to place two empty beers down on the bar table. “Hey Herrmann, you mind getting me two more?” 

Herrmann nods and goes to replace the bottles with filled ones. Matt’s hand remains steady on her back and it makes her skin feel hot and tingly as he turns to address Stella and Mackey. “Ladies,” he greets them. 

“Casey,” Stella calls, “kicking down doors: is it badass?” 

“Very badass,” he nods supportively. “Who’s kicking down doors?” 

“Mackey,” Sylvie chimes in. “She did this morning.” 

“Nice,” he fistbumps Mackey before continuing. “I’m more of a ‘saving someone from being run over by a car’ type of guy but props to you, Mackey. Very badass.” 

Sylvie’s so caught off guard by his words that she chokes on her drink. For someone who agreed to playing it cool for one night he sure is being suspiciously flirty in ways only she’s able to understand. His thumb strokes her back and just. Matt Casey _so_ knows what he’s doing, messing with her like that. It’s distracting. 

Stella’s eyebrows raise and she gives Mackey a knowing look as Matt grabs his beers from Herrmann and leaves. Mackey’s and Stella’s heads turn in unison towards Sylvie. 

“What?” She plays innocent. 

“What the hell was that,” Stella asks, the smallest grins on hers and Mackey’s faces.

“What do you mean? I just choked on my drink.” 

“Oh, oh! It’s the coughing fit all over again!” Mackey shouts it like she’s just won a game show. She gasps, “Something’s going on with you and Casey.” Sylvie tries not to blush as they both point accusatory fingers at her. 

“No no no, there’s nothing going on between me and Casey. And it was not another coughing fit,” she protests. 

“Hey, if the shoe fits,” Stella shrugs triumphantly. 

“It does not fit! We’re just friends, totally normal friends. See look, I’m going to talk to him and the guys because that’s what normal people do with their _normal_ friends.” 

“Hey, we’re plenty normal,” Stella chirps as Sylvie walks over to Matt, Severide, and Joe. 

“Hey guys,” she smiles, glancing back at the ladies that are observing only for a second before directly addressing Casey and leaning in close. “I just really wanted to thank you for everything today, Matt. Giving me a ride here was super nice of you. I mean, I was stuck under that bus stop for a long time, I’m sure it would have been _even longer_ if you hadn’t come. So thanks,” she says, her tone light and coy. The guys look confused for a second but don’t think twice about it as they return to their own conversation. Matt shifts uncomfortably in his seat, knows the real double entendre behind her words, and has to fight back a smirk. 

Two can play at this game, Matt Casey. 

“Anytime,” he nods, clearing his throat. She has to lean in close to him to squeeze out of her spot at the table and takes the opportunity to brush her hand against his, their fingers dancing around each other without ever fully intertwining. 

“See?” She shrugs as she gets back to the bar and stands next to Mackey. “Totally normal.” 

“Are you kidding?” Mackey asks. “That definitely felt flirty to me.” 

“Amen!” Stella shouts. “Gianna, have I told you how happy we are to have you here at 51 recently? Because I am _so_ happy to have you at 51.” Gianna snorts and gives a thankful nod to Stella before clinking their glasses together and getting even tipsier. 

“Ok that was not flirty,” Sylvie protests once more, “It was totally platonic.” She eyes Matt again, blushes when she sees that he’s still gazing at her. She gives him a wry, flirty smile, and then he unexpectedly gets up out of his chair. He’s grinning as he strides over, catching the guys’ attention, and kisses her. Like, really kisses her. Cups her face with his hands, smashes his lips against hers as she swipes her tongue on the inside of his cheek before pulling away. The whole bar feels silent and Sylvie swears she can feel those pairs of eyes staring at her on the back of her neck.

“One night of pretending, huh?” Her question is rhetorical but she can tell she’s grinning like an idiot. 

“I couldn’t wait.” His voice is low and raspy again and the whole world fades for what feels like forever. 

Forever actually ends up being a second or two because they’re quickly met by a stunned Gianna and Stella standing feet away from them as Stella

shouts, “WHAT?!” Mackey’s cheering and howling alongside her. 

It dawns on Sylvie that the entire firehouse is at Molly’s right now and most likely just witnessed their kiss. They’re looking around the room watching as Herrmann grins and shakes his head, Severide, and Joe both clap and whistle at a shockingly loud volume, and Gallo and Ritter smile adoringly at them. It’s all very unexpected but it makes Sylvie feel so happy and connected to the people she’s proud to call her chosen family. Standing there, her hands and face on Matt’s chest, his chest shaking up and down with laughter. It’s the least lonely she’s felt in weeks. 

She loves it. 

+++++ 

The next day, Sylvie and Matt take the afternoon off to drop Hubert off to Lily. 

The hospital’s quiet when they get there so they have no trouble sneaking in and walking into Lily’s room. Sylvie sees the dreaded “Room 3” sign. 

It’s strange, standing in the very hospital room where she last saw Julie. Sylvie thinks it’s another one of those signals from the universe urging her to keep doing it. She sees the little girl with a cast on her arm, freezes for a moment before Matt gives the hand he’s been holding since they walked into the hospital a tight squeeze and brings her back to reality. “Hi, Lily.” She takes a deep breath. She’s not scared or anything. She wants to do this, knows how important it is for her to do it. It’s just she hardly knows if Lily remembers her, nevermind if she actually wants to see a strange paramedic at a time like this. So she starts out small. “I’m Sylvie Brett, I helped you out of the car crash.” 

“I remember,” she nods shyly. “Hi.” 

“Well we heard about your family,” she says, treading lightly and making sure her tone is slow and steady. The girl’s eyes look like shattered glass, her grief still lingering at the surface of her whole being. “and we’re really sorry for your loss.” 

“Thank you,” she says, a tear falling from the corner of her cheek. She sniffles and pouts, looking around the room unsure of what else to say. 

Sylvie leaves Matt’s side and sits down on the bed next to Lily, drying the tear from her eye. “It’s okay,” she soothes her. “I’ve lost someone important to me too, Lily. It hurts a lot. But you know what? You’re not alone, no matter where you go. There will always be people there for you to talk to, even if you think it’s silly. You’re going to be just fine, Lily Frampton, ok?” She gently lifts the little girl’s chin up with her finger so that she’s eye to eye with her. 

Lily nods, the ghost of a smile on her face. Sylvie pulls Hubert out, places him gently next to Lily, and watches that little girl's go from shocked to overjoyed as she abruptly wraps her arms around Sylvie and squeals. The hug is sweet and brief, but it’s what Sylvie needs. It’s the closure she never had with Julie and, if she’s being honest, the closure she’s never had with herself. 

“Excuse me, is there a young Lily Frampton here?” Sylvie stands up from the bed to see a tall, dark-haired woman in a suit with a clipboard standing behind Matt. 

Sylvie’s too dumbstruck to answer, something Matt picks up on so he points to Lily and replies, “Yeah that’s her. What’s this about?”

“Hi, Lily. I’m from DCFS, I’m here to take care of you okay?” The woman’s voice is calm and patient, which is a consolation to Sylvie. At least Lily Frampton will be in good hands. 

Lily looks to Sylvie hesitantly, so she nods to reassure her. “She’ll take care of you, don’t worry.” 

With that, everything is set into motion for Lily Frampton as the social worker walks further into the room to do her job. Sylvie backs away, feels Matt’s arm around her as she smiles at Lily one more time before they leave. 

“You are one amazing woman, Sylvie Brett.” 

“Why thank you,” she hums gratefully. The glass doors slide open automatically as they walk out into the bright afternoon sun. 

“So I was thinking,” he starts again after a minute, “Stella and Severide are out of town for the weekend so for our date tonight I can cook you dinner and we can watch a movie or something.” 

They’re in the parking lot now, still holding hands as Sylvie stops and looks at him adoringly. She leans in, presses her forehead against his gently before kissing him. She lets the kiss speak all the words she’s trying to formulate in her head and pulls away once she figures it out. “That sounds… perfect,” she says. Because it is. It’s perfect. “Which isn’t a word I like using a lot, but in this situation, it definitely applies.” 

“Good to know,” he chuckles. 

“Oh!” She gasps and puts a hand to his chest. “I have a DVD with bonus footage from the most recent season, you’re going to love it. Can we watch that instead?” 

“As you wish, dear,” he replies in a loving sigh. She giggles as she wraps her arm under his and they walk to her car. Her eyes look at him the whole time though, her thoughts on how lucky she is. They never had the timing right before but now? Now it’s right and it’s amazing like the whole world has become crystal clear again. Sylvie considers herself the luckiest person in the world for picking up that signal when she did. 

Because she looks over at Matt again as he’s driving down the road, and thinks it’s a pretty damn good signal to get from the universe.


End file.
